A Guide to Integrated Children and Family
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A Guide to Integrated Children and Family Services 2020 - 2021 • Confident Individuals • Responsible Individuals • Successful Learners • Effective Contributors www.aberdeencity.gov.uk Welcome 4 Law, Parental Responsibilities and Rights 6 Enrolling Children in an Early Learning and 18 Childcare Setting Enrolling Children in Primary and 24 Secondary Education Education Services 32 Services for Children and Young People 39 with Additional Support Needs Health and Safety 54 Culture, Sport, Family and 59 Community Learning Services Social Work Services 68 Early Learning and Childcare/Schools 71 Special Schools 79 Admissions and Education Services 80 Contents Additional Support for Learning Services 82 Registered Early Learning and 85 Childcare Centres Culture, Sport, Family and Community 89 Learning Services Community Centres 90 Learning Centres 92 Library and Information Services 94 Useful Contacts 96 National Contacts 98 Comments, Complaints and Feedback 99 3 Welcome to Aberdeen City Council’s A Guide to Integrated Children and Family Services 2020-2021 Our Vision for Education across Aberdeen City Our vision is to keep the children, young people and communities of Aberdeen safe, healthy and thriving by working in collaboration with families. By working in partnership we aim to ensure that Aberdeen is a high achieving City of Learning which: • offers nurturing, relevant learning opportunities for all; • strengthens the resilience of all; • celebrates aspiration, ambition and innovation with all. We believe that our children and young people should be supported to have their say when decisions are being taken that affect them. However, we are committed to upholding the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and working with others to take a common, co-ordinated approach across all agencies to ensure we deliver appropriate, proportionate help to all children, young people and families when they need it. All children, young people and families are important to us. We recognise that Welcome some families need extra support from time to time and we will work with partners to provide proportionate support. As we work to close the poverty related attainment gap we will ensure that all of our children have access to a broad range of opportunities and experiences and that these are not dependant on income. Our Local Outcome Improvement Plan details how we will collaborate with partners to improve services across Aberdeen in order to: • Ensure that the children of Aberdeen get the best start in life; • Enhance supports for children, young people, families and communities to promote good mental health; • Ensure that our Looked After and Care Experienced children and young people have every opportunity to succeed; and • Improve the range of learning pathways available to our children and young people to ensure a positive destination. The realisation of these aspirations depends on engaging our workforce and on our ability to listen and respond to the needs of our customers. We invest in our 4 staff to ensure we have a motivated, professional, skilled and resilient workforce and continually improve the delivery of our services by actively listening to our customers and using this knowledge to help us address their changing needs. The Purpose of This Guide This guide will provide you with information and contact details about services that we provide in the city for children, young people and families. It also provides information about the Government legislation that relates to children’s care and education. We hope you will find it comprehensive and easy to use. Parental involvement in a child’s education is key to raising attainment and ensuring children reach their full potential. Strong partnerships with parents can help shape services, enrich the curriculum and build a sense of community of benefit to all. We value the skills, time and opinions of our parents and carers. You will find out later in the guide how parents can become more involved in shaping services. We hope that this booklet provides key information that will help you to access our services and look forward to working in partnership with you. John Wheeler Convenor, Integrated Children and Family Services December 2019 Notes: 1. Where we use the word ‘parents’ this refers to anyone with parental responsibilities, a guardian and/or any person who is liable to maintain or has parental responsibilities (within the meaning of Section 1(3) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995) in relation to a child, or has care of a child or young person. 2. All the contact details and data in this guide are correct as at December 2019. For the most up to date information please contact the Family Information Service on [email protected] or visit the FIS website: www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/fis. 5 Law, Parental Responsibilities and Rights The law affecting children and young people in Scotland is founded on the principles that: • the welfare of the child is paramount; • all children have the right to protection from all forms of abuse, neglect or exploitation; • we must consider, so far as is practical, the child’s views when making decisions that affect him/her; and • parents should normally be responsible for the upbringing of their children. There are various laws in Scotland which are designed to make sure that children and young people are properly protected and cared for. We recognise that it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that children and young people are safe. Parents are responsible for the safety and wellbeing of their children. In normal circumstances, parents meet their responsibilities with no need for intervention on the part of statutory agencies. It is important in Scotland that the conduct of family life is, in general, left to parents and family members. However, it is equally important that the protection and wellbeing of children and young people is a matter of priority for everyone. Getting it Right For Every Child Getting it Right is the Scottish Government’s policy that aims to ensure that all babies, children and young people are supported to reach their full potential by maximising their wellbeing. The policy is based on a number of core principles and values. In Aberdeen it is being delivered through a shared approach where all the community partners work together to support children and/or their family as soon as need is identified. Law, Parental Responsibilities and Rights In order to make sure that children receive appropriate help, every child has an establishment contact based in either health or education. This person will be the first point of contact when a child, young person or their family or carers wish to access support or advice. If the child requires the support of more than two services, then a ‘Lead Professional’ will be appointed to co-ordinate the support. Further information on Getting it Right in Aberdeen can be found on the website, www.aberdeengettingitright.org.uk/GIRFEC 6 Physical Punishment of Children In Scotland, under the current law, if parents or those looking after children use physical punishment they can raise a defence against a charge of assault claiming that what they did was “reasonable chastisement” and therefore not an offence. The law is due to change. Our current laws already say that it is illegal to punish children using harsh or excessive forms of physical punishment such as: • shaking; • hitting on the head; or • using an implement to ‘punish’ children, e.g. shoe, cane, slipper. When the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill becomes law a person charged with assault of a child will no longer be able to raise a defence of reasonable chastisement and children will have the same protection from assault as adults. Where a child is considered to possibly be a victim of abuse, this may result in a referral for a child protection investigation. Referrals are made to the Police or to the Joint Child Protection Team. Children Left Unattended Young children should never be left unattended and must not be left at home alone even for short periods of time. The police will investigate and legal action may be taken if anything goes wrong in your absence, or if a child is injured or harmed as a result of being left alone. Children should always be left in the care of a trusted adult, never with a stranger. Parents should take the necessary steps to make sure that anyone else who may be looking after their children is responsible and trustworthy. Children Begging It is an offence in Scotland to cause or allow children under the age of 16 to be used for begging. This means that parents are responsible for their children and will be prosecuted if they allow their children to beg. It is very likely that if members of the public were to see children begging, they would inform the Police. 7 Employment of Children The Local Authority has by-laws which regulate the part-time employment of school age children (that is children who have not yet reached their statutory school leaving date) during term-time and holiday periods. Employment includes assistance in any trade or occupation which is carried out for profit, whether or not payment is received for that assistance. This includes times where the child is employed by a parent. Before a child can take up employment they require an employment permit. The permit details the employment to be undertaken and the hours and days to be worked. Before a permit can be issued parents and the child’s Head Teacher must give their permission for a child of school age to be employed. Employers must carry out a written risk assessment. Detailed information about the employment of school age children and an application for an employment permit is available online www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services/education-and-childcare/performance-and- employment/employment-children Parents should apply before their child starts work.